When in Rome

I took a weekend trip to Rome with my friends Brianna, Emily, Jordan and Erin. We had a blast! Due to a late flight Friday and an early flight today we really only had Saturday to explore. This gives me the perfect excuse to come back so I can see more! I absolutely love Rome. It's still not real to me that I was able to see all the things I saw. My grandma has always wanted to go to Rome so I thought about her every second of this trip. I wish I could bring her back with me but I'll just have to show her all my pictures. I'm really missing her today but I look forward to seeing her at my graduation. 

My friends and I rented a bus trip to take us around the city. It was nice because we could get on and off the bus as often as we wanted. This is how our long, crazy, adventure filled Saturday went down. 

Our hotel was close to the Vatican and this was also a bus stop so we decided to go there first. Here we are waiting in a 2 hour line! It seems like a long time to wait but time flies when you are about to enter such a wonderful place. 

There are extremely tall walls surrounding Vatican City. Brianna is super pumped!!

Once we entered the Vatican museum we all got kind of quiet. We were all in awe and shock that we were really doing this. The museum takes you on a path through many beautiful rooms with the Sistine Chapel at the end of the tour. WOW! My pictures do not do this place justice. Everyone must come and see this for themselves. 

Every room was more beautiful than the last. Once we entered the Sistine Chapel we were to be silent and no photos were allowed. I loved these rules. Everyone was able to look around at all the details of the paintings and enjoy them. No one was trying to take as many pictures as possible to post on Facebook. No one was talking to their friends and interrupting others trying to really take in the scene. Absolutely breathtaking and peaceful. 

Once we left the Vatican museum we walked to St. Peter's square. MY FAVORITE PART OF THE TRIP. The line for St. Peter's Basilica was outrageously long so we did not go in but I'll save that for my next visit. Here I am with my WKU red towel. Go tops! 

We got on the bus from here. A double decker bus! Sitting at the top was a perfect view of this amazing city. Here are some pictures I snapped from the bus. 

Next stop: Colosseum! At this point we were still all saying, "are we really doing this right now!?" First we went to the Forum which was an old Roman city. I really wish I had my history nerd brother with me for this part. He would have been able to explain everything and he would have loved seeing all of it. 

I had way too much fun with the selfie stick my host brother let me borrow. 

Buying a dual ticket for the Forum let us skip the line for the Colosseum. I highly recommend doing this is for your visit! 

 

Inside the Colosseum.

After this we got back on the bus to go to the Trevi fountain. This was disappointing because it was under construction. Still pretty neat to see and once again, a great excuse to come back to Rome. 

We went back to the hotel and found a local, authentic Italian restaurant for dinner. Yum! 

I am sad to be in the airport right now leaving Rome. I am also kind of sad that I am not returning home when I fly out. We have 15 more days abroad which means we are halfway through. I am ready for my return to America but I also keep reminding myself to enjoy the days ahead because the time has been flying by. Time to get ready for week 3! I am teaching this whole week so wish me luck! 

Sant Jordi's Day

It was very neat to be in Barcelona on Sant Jordi's day and to be able to experience the traditions. Sant Jordi (Saint George) slayed a dragon in order to save a princess. Now this day is marked as a day of love very similar to our Valentine's Day. The men give the women roses and the women give the men books. There were stands selling books and roses all over town. 

I started St. Jordi's day off right! Lucas' dad dropped us off at school and bought this rose for me. So sweet! 

The school had an assembly in the morning where the older students put on a play about the story of St. Jordi. Here is Sant Jordi slaying the dragon! 

Here are some of my cute 2nd graders after the play was over. Alejandra, Andrea, Toria and Sophia are BFFs. 

After school, my friend Emily came home with me so we could go to the city centre and see the celebrations. Maria went with us and rode the metro for the first time in 5 years. Haha! She is a little too good for the metro. This is not a very good picture but it gives an idea of the crowds and all the booths selling books. 

Here's Emily and I enjoying our first ever Sant Jordi's day. 

We ate at a wonderful crepe restaurant. I will definitely be going back.

Maria, myself and Emily at a store that had these cool books as decoration. 

I can't believe another week has gone by! Off to Rome tomorrow with 4 other girls. SOOO EXCITEDDD!! 

Exploring con mis amigas

I can't believe tomorrow will be one week in Spain already. I heard the month goes fast so I have decided it's time for fun! Today after school, Jordan, Emily and I decided to go out in town. We had a blast! Most importantly we all ended up home safely tonight. Phew! We walked to the bus station that is not far from school. When we were on the bus we ran into Ashely, our supervisor at St. Paul's. Lucky us! He told us where to get off to catch the metro, which was a lot quicker. He even walked us into the metro and helped me buy my train/bus pass. Off to a great start! We rode the metro into Placa de Catalunya. This area was full of people and many shops to see. We walked down to La Ramblas and took in the sites. It's sort of incredible how you can look around and find beauty alll throughout the town. After a while we decided to sit outside at a restaurant and order an appetizer as well as Jordan's first Spanish sangria. Yum! Afterwards we went back to the metro and took it to the stop that is right infront of my house. There is also a mall at this stop so we ran in there to end the night. I was able to walk home safely from here. Finally getting brave!! Here are some pictures of our night. I can't wait to explore some more with these ladies and bring some more friends along with us!

All of the chocolate at the market. A bit pricey but oh so delicious. This market was absolutely crazy! Maria told me they might put a limit on tourists there so the locals can enjoy it as well. 

Such beautiful views!

It was a great start to my week. Mondays aren't so bad when you spend them in Spain 😉

A Catalan BBQ

Today was quite a lovely Sunday. I was able to go to an outdoor gathering (like a BBQ in America). Maria asked if I wanted to join her and Lucas on their trip to their friends home which is about 30 minutes outside of Barcelona. They were having something similar to a barbeque but a Catalan version. We were going to eat  Calcotada. When we arrived I was greeted by such a sweet family. It was a wonderful day of visiting and learning about Catalan traditions. I'll show pictures since I'm not very good at explaining it all correctly. 

Here is a picture of the area we were in today. I guess it would be considered out in the country. There were vineyards everywhere so I'll call it wine country. Notice the huge mountain in the background. BEAUTIFUL! 

Here I am with eveyone minus Maria who took the picture. I still can't get over how sweet these friends are. I was told that I now have two homes in Spain! They even had the Garth Brooks greatest hits CD playing in the background for me once they heard I like country music. 

Here are the onions that were put on the grill. They are called Calcotadas. I was a little nervous when I saw them but don't worry, you slide the black part off! You dip the onion in the sauce to the right. It tasted very similar to the sauce you get with a blooming onion at Outback so I enjoyed it. 

This is how you drink Cava which is just like champagne. I stuck with a normal glass. 

Stephanie and Marta preparing their onions! 

Maria eating her onion. This was the really unusual part of the tradition but it made it fun and interesting. 

They said I was very good for a first timer! After the onions we ate bacon and a special Catalan sausage. I was stuffed.  

They brought out the selfie stick after our meal. 

Maria wore her America converse today! 

After we got back to Barcelona, Maria and I went to the Cathedral to attend 7 o'clock mass. What an amazing place to go to church!! 

Talk about a Sunday Funday! Now back to school for the week. 

A classroom in Spain

Being at school has been wonderful. I absolutely love all of the teachers as well as the students. My mentor teacher is Catherine and she is one of the nicest, most supportive people I have ever met. That's saying a lot because I haven't even known her a week yet. I look forward to working with Catherine for the next three weeks because she is an amazing teacher. 

There are some similarities and differences between the schools I have been in at home and St. Paul's. I knew there would be these differences but I was surprised to see that the core content classes are actually very similar. The two main things that are different are the schedules (they are called timetables here) and how the students call the teachers by their first names. The schedules are very different because these students have classes in three different languages. This means the teacher may only see their class once a day some days. It's also very strange that these students do not get math or other core classes every single day like they do in America. I'm still not used to the students calling the teachers by their first name. I think I enjoy it. It's funny to hear the students say "Catherine!" Or "Katie!" whenever they have questions. Some similarities are the content being taught and attention getters. The teachers design lessons based on learning goals just like they do in America. The attention getters here in Spain surprised me because I did not expect to see things like that here. Below are some pictures of Catherine's 2A class. Such a great group of smart and talented students!

Here are the students working on times tables!

The students have planted their own plants for Science!

Students are learning about how trees change during the seasons. They drew pictures of the same tree in the winter and again now in the spring. Here they are observing the trees. 

New familia

Yesterday after school I met my new family. They are WONDERFUL. My host mom's name is Maria and my host brother's name is Lucas. He is in 6th grade at St. Paul's. Last night we went straight from school to a class that taught Lucas, along with some other 6th graders, how to make cupcakes. I found this entertaining because cupcakes are very common in America. Once we got home I unpacked once again and got settled in my new house. Lucas went to his dad's house so I was able to eat dinner with Maria and talk with her all night. She doesn't speak very good english but we are still able to communicate. She is very sweet and free spirited. My kind of woman. Today (Saturday) I got to walk around town a bit. Maria and I walked to lunch and stopped by the store. She showed me how to get around to the local places and I think I will be able to do this on my own very easily. Yay! Finally spreading my wings and getting out and about in town. Maria had some work things so I was able to go home and rest a bit before some more exploring. Once Maria returned with Lucas we went driving around. Instead of trying to explain everywhere we went I'll post pictures of the places. 

Here is the Olympic stadium where...can you guess it...? The Olympics were held! This is where the Olympic flame was lit all the way back in 1992- the year I was born. 

And here's a look inside the stadium. Maria told me big concerts have been held here like the Rolling Stones. 

Next stop was the art museum. Well just the outside of it because that's pretty enough on its own! Love love love this spot! If you're a fan of fountains like me, this is a sight to see. See further down for more pictures of the fountain. 

Here's Christopher Columbus. There are neat things like this at many of the intersections and roundabouts. So many cool things to see!! 

Now on to the beach. I'm lucky enough to call this handsome young man my tour guide and my host brother. Note to self: start wearing sunglasses. 

Woah! The next stop was breathtaking. Here is La Sagrada Familia. If you google Barcelona this is what you will find but trust me, a picture does not do it justice. 

That's about it for our little day adventure. We went back home for dinner and then returned to the Montjuic fountain/art museum. There is a light and water show along to music and it was incredible. Here are some pictures. Also a picture of my crazy, cool host mom. She's a superstar!

Well that's all for now. There's a lot going on in this post so thanks for bearing with me! Adios muchachos.